Tailoring a village, raising a child

It really does take a village to raise a child and what better example of this than the Latino culture, staunch in its tradition of family and relationships. And who better to learn this lesson than the Colorado State University Extension 4-H staff in Weld County, who have made many attempts to connect with Latino youth.

With direction from Cathy Martinez, Colorado State Extension diversity resource leader, and an advisory council of Latino community leaders, the Extension staff in Weld County found themselves in the middle of tailor-made 4-H programming for Latino youth and their families.

"The idea to attract Latino kids to 4-H began more than a year ago when I met with staff in the state 4-H office who proposed Weld County for a pilot project to increase enrollment to non-traditional 4-H audiences," said Martinez.

Under the direction of the advisory council came suggestions to successfully reach out to the Latino community. They learned to make families part of the planning, provide hands-on activities for youth, overcome the language barrier, be considerate of culture and economics, involve community centers and city recreation programs, and take time to develop trust and relationships.

"Northern Colorado typically isolates races, and most programs sit back and wait for Latino kids to come to them," said Sal Salazar, community activist and council member. "This approach doesn't work with these kids and it's nice to see a program that is willing to reach out to them."

An important step in this process was to choose the best 4-H projects to offer to Latino youth. The 4-H market goat project -- raising, caring for and marketing goats -- was chosen primarily because of the connection the Latin culture has with agriculture. To introduce 4-H and the market goat project to the Latino community, Ed Trevino and sons Colt and Cody, helped set up a display and sold cabritos, barbecue goat tacos, during Cinco De Mayo festivities.

Recruiting youth to participate in the project was another learning experience for 4-H staff, and the traditional application process was another barrier they needed to overcome.

"Relationships and building trust are very important in the Latino community," said Ruben Flores, recreation program manager for the City of Greeley Jesus Rodarte Cultural Center. "After the use of the farm was donated by Richard Carrol, the most successful recruiting we did was to bring the kids out to the farm to spend the day cleaning up the pens and meeting the 4-H staff." The market goat project's continued success will depend on Extension 4-H youth and livestock agents Keith Maxey and Mark Cronquist in Weld County to find sponsors to donate goats and feed, schedule youth and families to check on the goats daily, and train youth and families to properly care for and feed goats.

The City of Greeley Parks and Recreation has agreed to help coordinate youth recruitment and transportation.

"We're excited about this collaborative effort," said David Sanchez, program manager for City of Greeley Parks and Recreation. "4-H has the project expertise and we are in contact with the target population and can get the kids involved."

Fostering relationships through trust and respect has helped Extension reach and serve Latino youth in Weld County.

Partners in Weld County 4-H Market Goat Project; Richard and Helen Carrol; community activist Sal Salazar; David Sanchez, programs manager, City of Greeley Parks and Recreation; Ruben Flores, recreation program manager, City of Greeley Jesus Rodarte Cultural Center; Ed, Cody and Colt Trevino; Luis Llerena, Jr.; Virginia Guzman; Terrie McKellar; Robert Miller, College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State University.

For more information, contact your local Colorado State University Extension office.

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